Umbrella company contractors may be interested to learn that the government has confirmed that it has no plans to make any changes to the Agency Workers Directive that came into force on October 1st.
The REC’s Industrial and Drivers sector groups met recently to discuss the Swedish Derogation model. Several employers are reported to have been asking recruitment agencies to use the model because they believed that it would take temporary workers out of the scope of AWR.
Rod Harris, the chair of the REC Drivers, said there still appears to be a lack of understanding about the complexities of the different supply models and it is important that there are no misunderstandings about the requirements of AWR.
The REC has also started reviewing the AWR Regulations and Guidance that were published last week for Northern Ireland and has said it will keep its members informed of key points before the Regulations come into force on the 5th of December.
One recent survey had suggested that as many as 500,000 could be out of a job before Christmas as companies preened down their temporary workforce in order to avoid complying with the new legislation.
Rather than reduce the size of their contractor workforce, the Royal Bank of Scotland has decided to give them all a mandatory holiday between December 19th and December 30th. Furthermore, the bank is no longer going to subsidise holiday parties and has actually vetoed any staff entertainment for the remainder of 2011.
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Image: I’m confused by Brian Lane Winfield Moore
